


Sleep

by taljpg



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-06-24
Packaged: 2019-10-29 18:35:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17813282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/taljpg/pseuds/taljpg
Summary: Will had never been the best at sleeping; His mind would wander, his thoughts would race, and he simply couldn't get his mind to slow down enough to get a good nights rest in. He didn't expect that it would just take one person throwing his own words against him would be such a powerful way to bring his thoughts from a race to a walk. He was even more surprised that it was from the one camper who looked like he hadn't slept properly since the 1940's: Nico di Angelo.





	1. Chapter 1

If it weren't for the bright smile fighting its way onto his lips and the spark in his eyes that never faded while he was in public, somebody might have been able to guess that Will Solace was not 100% okay. Roughly a month had passed since the battle at camp half-blood and things had just started to go back to normal, but Will's mind was constantly running and constantly trying to find new ways to keep him from sleeping at night. At one point it was the reminder that he had four patients who needed regular attention and an updated record, at another it was the fear of the nightmares that forced him to write a ridiculous amount of poetry then tear it up immediately, but most recently it was the thoughts in his head reminding him of all the reasons why sleep was a waste of time and how he should be doing more things instead of sleeping. He had tried everything from melatonin to some hippie-dippie bullshit the Demeter kids gave him to even trying to talk some of the Hypnos kids into putting him into some sort of trance (to no avail mind you), but nothing was working. Insomnia is common in kids with ADHD and Will was experiencing it to the ugliest and fullest extent.   
  
Will now sat at office desk and attempted to rub the exhaustion out of his eyes before he had to go back out and check on some of the more concerning patients. His body and mind were running on empty but he had to at least pretend he was at full before he could have a proper conversation with anybody. As he stood up to begin walking towards the door, there was a gentle knock that he recognized quickly. "Come in!" He said, false cheeriness dripping off of the exclamation as the door opened.    
  
In waked one of his favorite people as of late: Nico di Angelo. Nico kept his head down and shoved his hands in his pockets as he entered the small but comfortable room. "You told me to come in again after a month..." Nico said indifferently. Will paused for a moment and tried to remember what day it was, but Nico spoke up before his brain had to process all of the simple math. "It was about a month ago from today."   
  
Will cleared his throat as a smile chewed its way onto his lips. "Right." He said simply, leading Nico to the patient's chair he had set up in his office.    
  
As Nico began to get on the chair and take off the jacket he was wearing, will quickly noted that Nico was doing much better: muscle was replacing the previously thin places, his skin has actually gained that warm olive color back, and the bags were... well they were still there, but they looked more like Gucci bags rather than dumpster-in-the-back-ally-of-a-Walmart bags. Glad at least one of us is getting better after the battle, he thought to himself as a yawn bubbled up his throat and past his lips. He reached in his waist bag (compliments of one of the Hephaestus kids) and pulled out a stethoscope, then proceeded to gently listened to Nico's heartbeat and lungs. Will took note of how the rhythmic pattern of Nico's heartbeat had finally begun to even out and get stronger, causing a small but genuine smile to attach itself to his face. He then adjusted the stethoscope under the back of Nico's shirt and listened to his lungs, hearing them fill cleanly and without that concerning gurgling he had heard when he first came in. Nico was physically healed, but he couldn't help but wonder what his mental state was.   
  
As he began to put some of the equipment away, he felt the burning gaze of Nico watching him a little too carefully.    
  
"Will," Nico said cautiously, persuading the pseudo-doctor to turn and face him. "When was the last time you slept properly?" The question caught Will off guard and he quickly cast his eyes down to a clipboard with a random patient's information on it. "Nico, I'm here to examine you and ask how you are feeling." He responded playfully, trying to mask his panic with a laugh. "Anyway, everything sounds good. You're gaining weight, your lungs aren't making that weird sound when you breathe anymore, and your heartbeat is stronger. I'm almost afraid I won't have to check up on you for a while! But I guess that's a good thing, hm?"    
  
But Nico was persistent.    
  
"Will, you're avoiding the question." He deadpanned. "Aversion tactics don't work on me. You know this by now. All this is doing is making me think you haven't slept in the past month."    
  
Will, keeping his eyes averted from Nico's persistent gaze, picked up the clipboard and attempted to focus on what was written on it. "Honestly, Nico, I'm okay." He insisted, his voice quavering on the last word slightly. "If anything, the next thing I want to do is ask how you're feeling mentally."   
  
Will squinted at the words on the page and tried to make out the squiggles and dashes written on it, but nothing was making any sense. This was worse than the words dancing across the page and mixing themselves up because at least he knew the letters when that happened. Right now, it was like somebody had written this in Egyptian hieroglyphs. "Who the hell wrote this?" He muttered to himself as he pulled it closer to his face to try and understand it better.   
  
Then, there was a hand in the clipboard. Will looked up and found Nico taking the clipboard out of his hands, turning it 180°, and handing it back to him. "Better?" Nico questioned, slight mockery in his voice. Will looked back down at the page and all of the letters suddenly made more sense. Will took a deep breath and cleared his throat.   
  
"Four days..." he finally answered. "I haven't slept four days."    
  
Nico's eyes narrowed momentarily and, before Will could properly process what the hell was happening, began pulling Will out of the infirmity and towards the Apollo cabin against his will. "Nico what the in Hades are you doing?!" He exclaimed. "I have patients to take care of!" Nico stopped pulling him and spun around quickly. "How do you expect to take care of anyone if you can barely take care of yourself?!" Nico spat. "You want to pretend that you're untouchable and that you can do anything, but you can barely stay awake! Powering through pain is admirable, but this shit isn't healthy!" The vitriolic words being thrown at him were turning Will's world upside down. He suddenly felt like there was something familiar about the words Nico was saying to him.   
  
_ How do you expect to take care of anyone if you can barely take care of yourself? _   
  
That's when it hit him. Nico was throwing back the exact words that Will once said to him. Back when Nico was first admitted to the infirmity after the battle and had tried to shadow travel for the second time that day, Will literally demanded that he stop and said those exact words in response to Nico saying that he wanted to help people. That also happened to be the day when insomnia became almost unbearable. Oh, the irony.   
  
Will was about to respond, but Nico clasped a hand over his mouth. Will silently noted that Nico smelled like licorice. "I'll make a deal with you..." Nico said softly. "I will talk to you about my... feelings and shit... if you let me help you sleep." Will was confused by the notion of getting sleep advice from the boy who looked like he hadn't slept since the 1940s, but at least he would be able to finally get a look inside that head of Nico's.   
  
Will pulled Nico's hand away from his mouth and said a quiet, "Okay. Fine." Nico bedded softly silently began walking Will to the Apollo cabin. Will noted that Nico's hands felt warm against his wrist.    
  
-°-°-°-°-°-   
  
When they finally arrived at the cabin, Nico opened the door and examined the few people who were in the cabin. "Out." He said softly, causing most of the people to leave quickly. Only a few remained, not intimidated by Nico in the slightest. Will cleared his throat and said a playful "Nico needs to talk to me in private, please. I'll make it up to you guys later." The few who remained left reluctantly, but eventually, the two were alone.   
  
Nico let go of Will's wrist and sat him down on his bed. "Will, what makes you happy?" He asked softly, a tone Will was not accustomed to hearing. He thought for a moment in how to respond but eventually decided to go with something random. "Helping other people?" He said cautiously, earning himself a furrowed brow and frown from Nico. "Okay! Okay!" He said quickly, trying to diffuse the situation as he thought harder about what really made him happy: The sun, music, his mom, his friends, his siblings, Nico- _wait what?!_  Will attempted to shake the thought of Nico out of his head, but it just kept creeping in through the back of his mind. Without really thinking about it, will finally respond.   
  
"Licorice."   
  
Will heard a snort from Nico's direction and turned his head to find Nico covering his mouth with his hand and his eyes crinkling up at the corners. "S-sorry." He snickered out. "I just wasn't expecting candy to make you happy. I was expecting something more like–"   
  
"Like what?" Will retorted quickly, his cheeks going a bit red at his own response. "Sunshine? Rainbows? Love at first sight or something?"  Nico shrugged and a smile tugged at the corners of his lips. "Basically." He said honestly, causing them both to chuckle a bit. Will liked this side of Nico; this side of Nico was friendly, considerate, gentle, and real. The conversation then turned to Nico talking about his feelings and what he has been going through emotionally.   
  
"You wanted to know, so here it is." Nico began, taking a deep breath. "I'm finally okay with myself, and it's a pretty nice feeling. It's nice to like yourself and who you are as a person. I don't feel guilty anymore about Bianca or Leo or anybody like that like I was a month ago in the infirmity. You know, when I tried to shadow travel to find Leo and you yelled at me? Yeah... that was rough..."   
  
As Nico continued to talk about simple things, Will began to feel the heaviness in his eyes grow unbearable. He closed his eyes and, for the first time all week, his mind wasn't spinning like a top. He wasn't thinking about his responsibilities or his downfalls or the things that he could be doing right now. The smell of licorice overwhelmed his senses and Nico's voice was stronger than any sleeping drug he had ingested. As he fell deeper and deeper, he could have sworn he felt a hand massaging its way through his hair, but he wouldn't have the chance to find out before a dreamless and peaceful sleep washed over his mind.    


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, what's up it's me, Talley. I had read enough stories about Nico being a "smol hurt precious bean in need of protection uwu" and as much fun as that is, I wanted to write something a little different and a little more realistic in my opinion lol. Anyway, I hope y'all like it and just know that my update schedule will be absolute trash. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, there buddy pal friend-o! Just wanted to warn you that there is the use of the word f*g and a death in this chapter. If that makes you uncomfortable, just skip until after the italics when Will goes into a memory! Thanks and enjoy the chapter!

There was a warmth in the air when Will's eyes peeled open and he could tell that it was roughly noon. He lazily looked around in hopes of finding the sweet licorice scent that has previously lulled him to sleep but was disappointed to find that the cabin was empty except for a few of his siblings. After the bitter realization, he kicked his feet over the side of the bed and took a deep breath. "I got to sleep..." he mumbled softly as he rubbed his eyes.

  
"You most definitely did," a voice responded as Will turned to see where the voice was coming from. One of his siblings chuckled and took an earbud out. "Death boy was in there for less than an hour. Did he sing you a lullaby or something?" Will felt a small brush fire break out on his cheeks and he quickly tried to extinguish it by looking away. "No..." he said softly, sleep still plaguing his voice. "We were just talking and then all of the sudden I was asleep." Will's sibling, whose name was David, laughed a bit more and raised an eyebrow. "Does he know you're gay?"   
  
Will paused for a moment and looked away. He was basically out to everybody in camp, so he could only assume that Nico knew.  
  
"Probably." He muttered, picking at a loose thread on his bed sheet. "You never know with him. I'm not going to try and force anything on him though. He just got better after all." David shrugged and smiled to himself. Will, on the other hand, took a moment to assess his situation and how he was really feeling. He felt energized, ready to help, and a sudden urge to eat licorice.  
  
"You've been out for, like, a day," Drew added calmly, putting his earbud back in his ear and closing his eyes. "Just thought you should know." Upon hearing this, Will 's eyes widened. "Shit!" he exclaimed, now standing and hastily throwing some clothes on. "There's so much I have to do!" He exclaimed, only to have David jump to his feet and put a hand on his shoulder. "Woah there!" He said softly. "Death boy said he's taking care of it!" Will took a moment and thought about what he just heard.   
  
Is... is Nico taking care of me?   
  
He paused for a moment and shook his head. "I still have to get to work, or at least go do something." He said softly, pulling his shoes on.  
  
-°-°-°-°-°-  
  
It was a beautiful day outside and will realize how much of nature he had actually been missing because of his inability to sleep properly. The grass was greener, the sun was brighter, and even the birds seemed to chirp a bit happier. After thoroughly enjoying the wonderful and inspiring whether, Will scanned his surroundings quickly and realized that everything was normal, and he made his way over to the only place where there seemed to be a stir in the peace: the infirmary.  
  
When he arrived properly, he was shocked to see that Nico DiAngelo was struggling to wrap up come freshly cut gauze. Will took notice of things that Nico did when he was frustrated: his eyebrows furrowed in unbreaking concentration, the tip of his tongue peeked out between the corner of his mouth, and his leg bounced in an irritated way. After observing him for a moment, Will cleared his throat and leaned against the doorframe, a genuine smile tugging at the corners of his lips. "Having fun?" he mused playfully, earning himself a half-hearted glare from Nico. "I'm doing my best, okay?" Nico grumbles, tossing the messily wrapped gauze onto the nearby table with many, many others that looked similar to that one. Will rewarded Nico's frustration with a small chuckle and pulled a seat up next to him.

After some considerable silence, between them, Nico spoke up. "Are you feeling any better?" He asked, his voice softer than it was just moments ago. Will nodded silently and flashed a smile at the still visibly irritated boy. He reached over and grabbed one of the gauze rolls that Nico had definitely attempted to do right and began to re-roll it himself. "Nobody's been able to get me to sleep," he said casually, trying to gauge Nico's reaction to his words.

Will saw a soft pink dance across Nico's cheeks and slowly creep across his face, which made Will's heart swell with pride. "Well," Nico said softly, pulling his jacket a bit tighter around him. "I know what it's like to go through that and I've learned a couple things. I was starting to get worried when you didn't wake up this morning. Your siblings told me that you were okay, so I just went to see if I could help here at the infirmary. I can't do much, but I can do basic things like cutting gauze and take inventory and clean up and stuff." Will smiled softly and chuckled. He noticed how Nico was covering any discomfort with self-explanation, and it was honestly adorable.

_NO! Will, stop! You can't try to come onto him or think about him like that! He literally was just trying to help you sleep! He doesn't like you._

"Well, it's obvious nobody told you how to wrap gauze." Will teased playfull, pushing any emotional stuff to the back of his mind. "Want me to teach you?" Nico shot him another glare and opened his mouth to speak, but was quickly interrupted by a symphony of gurgles and rumbles coming from Will's stomach. Nico closed his mouth quickly and narrowed his eyes, Will was almost afraid he was going to get turned into a puddle of shadow goo, but then Nico pulls something out of his jacket.

Licorice.

"You said you liked it and it should sustain you until mess hall is open," Nico said softly, keeping his eyes averted and handing one of the black straws out to the bewildered child of the sun god. "You... you remembered?" Will questioned. Nico nodded gently and placed the licorice in Will's hand. "I have a good memory and I don't forget much," he retorted, a small smile on his face. The two sat in a comfortable silence for a bit longer, Will eating Licorice and Nico watching.

"Hey Will?" Nico said as he handed Will another straw. Their hands brushed each other during the exchange and Will's face was a wildfire of red. "Y-yeah?" he squeaked, quickly eating the dark candy. Nico paused for a moment and looked away. "How do you get over somebody?"

Will was surprised by the question, but he sat up a little straighter to start to think seriously about it. "Well," he started, clearing his throat. "It's never easy, but it really depends on the situation. Overall it takes a lot of time and people who you trust to talk to about it. If it's somebody you broke up with and you still have feelings for them, just remember that you broke up with them for a reason and that you're probably better off without them. If it's somebody you are just starting to like... well... It gets complicated..."  
  
Nico nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, there's this person who I think is pretty... alright... Like, I go out of my way to try to make this person happy, but I just got stable after everything that's happened and I don't want to burden him with any more bullshit, y'know. I mean, I'm still in the process of getting better and I don't think I'll be 100% okay any time soon. He's just...a really great guy. He's got so much going on I know he needs help, but I don't think that he needs somebody like me. I just... really like him." Will's heart fluttered when Nico said the words "him" and "guy" and a little voice in his heart spoke up, screaming that Nico was talking about him. Will felt the blood rush to his cheeks and as he turned to respond to Nico, his heart sank when he saw the look in the eyes that were looking away from him.

He saw love. Compassion. Longing. Those were looks that Nico had never showed Will and something in the back of his mind said that he never would. Nico turned to look at Will and the emotion he previously saw was gone, replaced by indifference and a hint of fear. Will swallowed hard and kept his eyes down. He couldn't allow Nico couldn't see his disappointment. "Well... maybe pursue your feelings," he said, basically forcing the words from his lips. "This person you like... he... well... anybody would be lucky to be with somebody as great as you!"

Another forced smile. More hiding. Greater pain. Will thought he was going to be getting better now that Nico was trusting him more, but he hid his emotions, yet again, for the other person's happiness. Suddenly, Will's mind transported him back to his interactions with somebody that was long since dead.

_"Finn, I'm in love with you!"_

_The childhood mortal friend stopped in his tracks, as they were on their way home from the bus stop, and looked at Will coldly and narrowed his eyes bitterly. "What the fuck?" he said coldly, which made Will's stomach drop to his feet. "What do you take me for? Some sort of fag?" Will swallowed hard and tried to take his words back._

_"N-no, Finn!" He pleaded, grabbing his previous friend's arms tightly. "Please, I meant like friends love each other! Please, don't tell anybody. Please! I don't want to lose you!" Finn pushed Will to the ground and backed away. "I'm not your friend anymore!" Finn shouted at him. "You said you were in love with me, and I'm not going to be friends with a faggot! Walk home by yourself!" Will got up quickly and chased after his friend, who was crossing the road._

_"Finn! Stop!! There's a--!!"_

Will was shaken out of his memory by Nico. "Will!" Nico shouted. Will cleared his throat and kept his eyes down. "Sorry," he said softly, laughing a bit and trying to shake the memory away. "I guess I got caught up in my own thoughts there for a second! Did you say something?" Nico looked at will, disbelief in his eyes and obviously not trusting him. "I just said that I would do it. Pursue the feelings, I mean..." Nico responded quietly, obviously trying to read Will's emotions.

Will quickly plastered a big grin on his face and turned the look back to Nico. "How about I teach you how to properly wrap this gauze?" he offered, taking one of the poorly wrapped gauze strips and unraveling it. Nico reluctantly nodded and the two sat together wrapping gauze strips into useable rolls and making light conversation.

Will tried to keep any memories or emotions out of his head. Nico said that he was going to pursue a person that wasn't Will, and he couldn't hold on to unrequited emotions and feelings.

But he couldn't help but feel a slight ache in his chest when he had to think about not having his licorice boy near him that night.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a week since Will had told Nico to pursue his feelings and Will was on day five without sleep. He was kept up at night with heartache and vivid memories of what happened with Finn roughly a year ago. He stayed in the infirmary most days, trying to distract himself with work or paperwork or something, but it wasn’t long before people started to notice that something was wrong.

Will watched the sleep-deprived hallucinations dance across his room and there was a gentle knock on his office door. “Come in,” he said softly, going back to writing on one of his patient reports. The door creaked open and it was none other than Nico.  _ Of course, it’s him, _ his brain mocked him.  _ The person who will never love me you. It’s like Finn all over again. _

Will flashed a smile at Nico and said “Hey, man! What can I do for you?” But Nico wasn’t smiling. Nico looked angry. The hallucinations crowded Will’s mind and started whispering terrible things to him. Will’s expression wavered momentarily but fought for that smile to stay on his face. “N-Nico?” he questioned cautiously, tensing up as he spoke.

Nico made his way over to Will’s desk and kept a glare on him. Will swallowed hard and tried to maintain his composure. “I haven’t heard a goddamn thing from you in five days, Will Solace,” Nico said bitterly. “I come into the infirmary and try to see you, but they tell me you’re busy. I try to find you in your own cabin in the morning, but your siblings tell me that you went out the night before. Five. Days. Am I going to have to hunt you down every time I want to talk to you?” Will blinked in astonishment and furrowed his eyebrows, his sleep-deprived brain trying to process all those words he just heard. “You… want to talk to me?” He questioned. Nico rolled his eyes and pulled up a chair. “Of course I do!” he exclaimed. “Who else am I going to tell about Demetri?” 

Right. Demerit. The Dyonisus boy that Nico had been talking to a lot recently. He would be genuinely surprised if Nico wasn’t interested in the handsome guy. Will’s smile must have faltered because Nico suddenly changed his attitude. “Unless… You don’t want me to talk about him,” he said quietly, looking down. Will shook his head and touched Nico’s arm. “No no no!” He exclaimed. “Please. I want to hear all about it!” It was a lie, of course, but the excitement on Nico’s face made Will feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

As Nico began to speak about conversations he had with Demetri and how Demetri seemed to be interested in him for this, that, and the other reason, Will couldn’t help but feel a little sad. The way Nico got so excited over just a simple smile from Demerit made his heartache. He would give anything for Nico to see him like that. The way Nico described some of the little mannerisms Demetri had made his stomach churn. He could only wish for Nico to pay that much attention to him. The way his eyes shone when he talked about the way that Demetri would give him little gifts or compliments made his hands ball into fists under the table. Will knew he would never get those looks. 

“Nico,” Will said suddenly, without thinking really. “I’m… I’m really… h-happy… for you!” The words sounded forced even to his own ears and Nico picked up on it. “Will?” He asked cautiously. “Are you… jealous?” Will sat up straighter and furrowed his eyebrows. “No way! I’m glad that somebody makes you happy! That’s all I could have asked for!”   


Then came the part he would eventually regret.

“I’m... actually talking to somebody too!”

This must have thrown Nico off guard because Will noticed the amused smile drop off his face almost instantly. “Oh… really?” He asked, much softer this time. “Who is it?” Will heard alarms going off in his head as he wracked his brain for somebody that he could easily say.

“Mitchell! In the Aphrodite cabin!” He said quickly.

Nico seemed to deflate slightly when he said the name, but it might have just been Will’s sleep-deprived eyes deceiving him. “Oh.” He simply said as he shifted in his seat. “Well… I’m happy for you.” Will hated lying to Nico, but he had to make up something that would Make Nico feel less guilty for talking about his newfound love interest.

The two sat in silence for a moment before Nico spoke up again. “You haven’t been sleeping, have you? How long this time?” Will chuckled sadly and rubbed his neck. “Five days.” He said, shame plaguing his voice as he spoke. Nico sighed softly and touched his shoulder. “How about we eat and I help you get to sleep again. Sound good?” Will smiled softly and nodded. It was getting close to eating time anyway, the two made their way out of the infirmary and towards the mess hall.

-°-°-°-°-°-

Dinner was a successful endeavor, sans a few strange looks and awkward silences, and the two eventually made their way back to the Hades cabin. When Nico opened the Door to the Hades cabin, It was much homier than he remembered. The ugly coffin beds had been replaced by a few larger beds, the dark and gothic romantic theme had been wiped away and replaced with more shades of red and gold, and the blackout curtains had been taken out. The place felt less like the French catacombs and more like somebody’s room. Sure there were still some remnants of death imagery, but it all seemed to be things that Nico didn’t mind too terribly.    


“Wow, Nico,” He said softly, looking around. “You turned this cabin around.” Nico chuckled a bit and sat on one of the beds. “Surprisingly, I would like to not be surrounded by death all the time.” The two boys got a good laugh in and Will joined Nico on the bed. Nico eventually got Will to lay down on his back and close his eyes, Will listened to Nico talk about how he was really feeling.

“Honestly,” Nico began softly, absent-mindedly running his fingers through Will’s hair. “I feel like I’m really interested in this one guy and he keeps trying to avoid me. I feel like I’m trying to connect with him and… I don’t know. I just feel like I’m doing him more harm than good. Do you have any advice?” Will felt his eyelids getting heavy and a fuzziness clouding his mind, but he managed to give a decent response. “Maybe he just doesn’t know what to do around you.” Will offered, leaning into Nico’s touch a little bit. “You’re an attractive guy and you’re super powerful. Maybe he just doesn’t want to do or say anything that could upset you?” Will also started to put together that Nico wasn’t saying the name Demetri when talking about the guy he was into, which made his heart flutter a bit. 

“I just…” Nico began softly. “I wish he didn’t see me as fragile or breakable. I’ve been through a lot and I’m stronger now than I ever have been. I feel like he is hiding stuff from me because doesn’t want to scare me off. I don’t really know what to do at this point, but Maybe he’ll… open up? I mean I’ve already told him a lot of my business so maybe he’ll feel more comfortable telling me why he hides so much.” Will opened his eyes for a moment and looked at Nico.

“Hey, Neeks?” He said softly. “Speaking of opening up… There’s something you should know.” Nico obviously didn’t like the nickname, but he listened intently.

Will took a deep breath and began to recount his situation with Finn.

“When I was younger, my mom was out a lot on tour. She’s an alt-country singer and she’s actually really good at what she does. There wasn’t another parent at home, obviously, so I stayed with my childhood friend a lot. His name was Finn Beacon and I started having feelings for him when I was pretty young. I didn’t actually go to school with him until about two years ago, but that’s when the feelings got the strongest. Finn was always strong and well-liked and handsome… but something always told me to hide how I felt for his sake and mine. 

“About a year ago, we were getting off the bus and I felt strangely confident. I had been going to Camp Half-blood for years, nobody really had a problem with my sexuality, and I knew that I had to tell him. He was my best friend and I couldn’t stand lying to him. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and I had just nailed a Psychology test. So I told him. I said I was in love with him. He… he didn’t react very well. He ran away from me… right into oncoming traffic. It was my fault that he died and I haven’t forgiven myself. Rumors started that I didn’t date anybody here at camp because I had somebody back home, but the reality is that whenever I see somebody I like, I can only think of what my love did to Finn.”

Will used to cry when he told this story, but now he just felt relieved. It felt good to get everything off his chest and to be honest about something. Will watched Nico’s face for a reaction, and he just saw compassion.

“Will…” He said softly. “His death wasn’t your fault. It’s not like you pushed him into the road or something. He couldn’t handle the fact that you loved him… and... “ Nico sighed softly and was silent for a moment, only speaking up after a few minutes had passed. “Thank you for telling me. I know it’s hard to talk about somebody you love dying, but trust me when I say this: blaming yourself for somebody’s death isn’t the way to go. Trust me. I’ve done it.” Will chuckled a bit and closed his eyes again. Nico continued to talk about the person he was interested in but never said any names. Eventually, a peaceful sleep inhabited Will’s mind and sleep came easy.

-°-°-°-°-°-

It must have been hours of sleeping before Will woke up, but it was night still. Will kept his eyes closed and he heard people talking near the door. He listened and remained as still as possible.

“...and it seems like he’s talking to your boyfriend,” one voice said, which he recognized as Nico’s. “I don’t know if he was serious or if it was a ploy to get me jealous or what… but…” 

“Nico, you need to relax.” said a much deeper and more groggy voice. “Mitchel would have told me if Will was coming on to him. He’s not exactly well known for keeping things to himself. Will was probably just trying to gauge a reaction.” Will then recognized the voice to be Demetri’s, raising more questions in Will’s mind.  _ If Demetri was dating Mitchel, why was he talking to Nico? Oh, shit wait that means my cover for talking to Mitchel is now completely fucked. _

“I don’t know.” Nico’s voice said quietly. There was a rustle of cloth and footsteps nearing the bed where Will was “sleeping” and he soon felt a hand in his hair. The sweet smell of licorice came with it and Will instantly relaxed “I just wish he knew, y’know? Then I wouldn’t have to keep trying stupid shit for him to even look at me the way I want him to.” 

Will wanted to hear more of the conversation, but the words were getting mixed up, my somebody stirring a bowl of alphabet soup, and eventually, sleep returned its firm grasp on him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this little book is getting more attention than I anticipated! I'm glad you guys like it! I'll update when I can, but here's a cutesy chapter for Y'all. :)

Will was woken up the next morning by a familiar voice and a pleasant scent. “Will.” he heard hummed in his ear. “Do you want to see something cool?” Will’s eyes opened slowly and he was met with the concentrated gaze of Nico, which was basically the equivalent of waking up to an angel. Will smiled sleepily and sat up to observe his surroundings a little more clearly.

The Hades cabin gave off this pleasant and comforting vibe; the red-brown sheets and pillows on the beds made the place feel cohesive and comfortable, the gold accents on pieces of furniture and as accents on windows and doors were reflecting against the one lamp that had been turned on, and the small but comfortable carpet on the floor absorbed any noise that might be too abrasive to the ears. The room was nice like this in the still-dark hours of the morning and Will felt lucky to be able to experience it.

Will pulled the blanket away from his legs and placed his hand on the spot beside him on the bed.  _ Warm,  _ his brain managed to register.  _ The spot next to me is warm.  _ A small blush washed over Will’s cheeks as he began to think about the fact that Nico might have been in the same bed with him all night and he was suddenly very thankful for the dim, comfortable lighting. “What time is it?” Will questioned sleepily, a yawn bubbling past his lips. Nico’s eyes never left Will’s face as he casually responded, “Five thirty in the morning.” Will raised an eyebrow took a moment to think about the words that just left Nico’s lips.

“So, let me get this straight,” Will said slowly, a smile creeping onto his face. “You decided that it would be a great idea to wake me up, the guy who has episodes of insomnia that last almost full weeks sometimes and who rarely even gets to sleep, at five in the morning?” Will narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms. “Look,” Nico retorted softly, obviously irritated. “I just wanted to show you something… really nice. I can talk you back to sleep when it’s done. I promise.”

Will chuckled a bit and rubbed the back of his neck. After a moment’s consideration, Will shrugged and stood up carefully. “I guess it couldn’t hurt to see a cool thing in the morning,” he said gently, reaching over and running his fingers through Nico’s hair. It was softer than he expected it to be, but he wasn’t complaining. He pulled his hand away after realizing what he just did and quickly averted his eyes.

_ Gods this boy is going to kill me, _ he thought to himself as he prepared to go on this random, early-morning adventure with Nico. 

After roughly ten minutes, the two were making their way out if the cabin. Will look a deep breath and closed his eyes, taking in the smells of the early morning. The smells of petrichor, wet leaves, and the ever-present smell of monster dust filled his nose and his lungs greedily took in the fresh air. It wasn’t every day that he could enjoy this smell and Will was going to enjoy every last minute of it. He was only taken out of it when he felt Nico touch his arm slightly. “Do you trust me?” Nico asked, a smile growing on his face. WIll nodded softly and before he could react, Nico was pulling them both into shadow travel. 

Will learned very quickly that he did NOT like this mode of transportation. His face felt like it was going to peel off, his stomach twisted itself into some pretty serious knots, and he overall had a terrible time doing this. When the earth finally became solid under his feet, the first thing that happened was his knees giving out from under him and then being punched in the face by nausea.

Yeah, Will was not a fan of Shadow travel.

“Nico, what the fuck…” Will grumbled as he tried to get control of his legs back. Nico laughed and suddenly all of Will’s previous anger melted away into warm affection. Nico’s laugh wasn’t like anything he had heard before. It held the same power as a clock tower bell, but with none of the negativity. His laugh was real, honest, and unrestrained, and to Will, it was beautiful.

“Sorry,” Nico teased, obviously not sorry in the slightest. “I didn’t realize how traveling in literal shadow would affect the child of the sun god.” Will shot a half-hearted glare at the still giggling boy and managed to pull himself to his feet. He took the opportunity to look around and was pleasantly surprised to see them on the beach. He had never been at the beach at this time of day and it was strangely relaxing to be surrounded by nothing but the silence of waves crashing against the sand. The cabins were a sizeable distance from the fireworks beach, but WIll didn’t see the need to do something as extreme as Shadow travel to get there.

When Will looked back to where Nico was standing, he saw that he was setting up a little towel for them to sit on. “Well?” Nico teased slightly. “Are you coming or not?” Will smiled softly and shrugged. “I dunno,” he said playfully, slowly making his way closer to the towel Nico was now sitting on. “You might try to do some weird underworldly stuff again.” The two got a good laugh out of the exchange and Will did sit beside Nico on the towel. 

There was a comfortable silence between the two boys and neither of them wanted to break it. The sky was getting lighter and you could almost see a whisper of purple over the horizon. A few more moments passed and suddenly, Nico touched Will’s arm. “Look. Now.” 

Will watched as the sun came over the horizon, but something odd happened just as it peeked over. There was a small flash of colors and the rest of the sky looked like a shattering prism of color. There were shifting and shuddering pieced of what appeared to be glass all around them as the sun began to rise higher past the horizon that flipped between greens, purples, and blues. Eventually, the colors evened out and the sky returned to normal. 

Will was in awe.

“It’s the barrier around camp,” Nico explained, already knowing what Will was about to ask. “Every morning when the sun rises, the barrier gets hit with all this information for the day and all that information causes it to do… well… whatever that was. Beautiful. Right?” 

Will nodded quietly and didn’t even bother to hide his amazement. “I had no idea that it did that,” he said quietly, now enjoying the warm colors the rising sun was painting against the clouds and sky. 

Small conversation broke out between the boys and Will felt Nico’s fingertips brush his own a few times. Will kept thinking about what he had heard the previous night… or was it a dream? regardless, he had an uncomfortable feeling idea that Nico knew something was wrong. The fact that he had lied to Nico about talking to somebody was eating him alive at this point and he knew that he had to say something.

“Hey, Neeks?” He said softly, allowing his fingertips to brush over Nico’s slightly thinner ones. “I have a confession.” Nico appeared to freeze up momentarily but quickly regained his composure. “Shoot,” Nico responded casually. WIll took a deep breath and started to dig his feet into the sand as he spoke.

“I lied about talking to Mitchell,” he confessed. “I just… I don’t really know. I just wanted to see if you would care, I guess? Just… You and Demetri have been spending a lot of time together and I missed having you around. I thought that If I said I was talking to somebody, you--”

“Will Solace,” Nico said, a smirk on his face. “Were you trying to make me jealous?” Will laughed nervously and shrugged. “I mean, a little bit.” he said honestly, causing Nico to laugh that beautiful laugh of his.

_ Gods, he’s perfect. _ Will thought to himself as a dreamy smile eased its way onto his lips. 

“I kinda guessed that,” Nico said softly. “Mitchell and Demetri are dating, so I assumed that you were trying to get my attention.” Will allowed one of his fingers to wrap around Nico’s fingers and he smiled to himself. “Well, your attention is something that I’d like to have,” he said without really thinking. A comfortable conversation continued between the two, mostly talking about their plans for the day, and Will noticed two very important things.

One, Nico wasn’t interested in Demetri romantically, and two, Nico wasn’t moving his hand away.


	5. Chapter 5

Unfortunately for Will, the cool calm of the morning with Nico did not carry in the rest of his day. He went back to the infirmary that morning at roughly 8 AM, it was almost immediately hit by dozens of questions from the other Apollo children working in the infirmary. keeps him questions about treating burns and acid, the amount of materials they had to properly take care of people running low, about a couple of campers were in desperate need of healing, andthings of that nature.

So, unfortunately, Will had a busy couple of hours ahead of him. Fortunately, however, Will was quick to do his work and he was able to get somebody else in charge of the infirmary today before the work consumed him. 

He was able to get out of the infirmity by about noon, and he was able to get to his table at the mess hall and actually get some food in his system. 

Remember how that cool calm didn’t last? Well, this would have been where it completely stopped for the day. Just as Will made his offering to his father, he was spun around by a slightly shorter person. Originally, Will thought that it could have been Nico, so he turned around excitedly. Instead he was met with a very pretty, but very irritated boy.

Mitchell.

“So, Will.” Mitchell spat. “Apparently you’re trying to get with me? Funny, because I don’t remember being informed of this. Y’know who I heard it from? MY BOYFRIEND!”

Will was turning bright red and his mouth opened to say words, but nothing came out. He was a few nearby people begin to look on. He preferred shadow travel to this.

“Mitchell,” he said softly, trying to keep his voice down in hopes that agervated camper would do the same. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but I have a pretty solid reason for—“

Before he could get anything out, here was a sharp pain followed by a warm tingle on his cheek, which took him a moment to realize was a hard slap from Mitchell. 

“People already think that I sleep around and that I’m easy,” The Aphrodite boy spat. “I don’t need you pretending that we’re talking and that I’m cheating on my boyfriend! The world may revolve around the sun, but I WILL NOT let my love life revolve around you!”

With that, Mitchell turned on his heel and stormed off. It was a weird feeling, being called out on your lie. Especially my the person involved in your lie. Will scanned the room and saw Demetri with his fingers rubbing his temple, Mitchell being surrounded by the other Aphrodite as they presumably comforted him, and Nico, having just walked in. It wasn’t a great feeling to have the one person whose attention you want on you at just the wrong time. 

Will dumped the rest of his meal into the offering fire, which rewarded him with a large _fwoom_ of appreciation, and walked out of the mess hall. He couldn’t eat after that.

-°-°-°-°-°-

Will made his way out in the lake in a small, single-person canoe and just watched things happen around him. The sun did a beautiful dance with the water as light seemed to refract and reflect against the ripples made by the canoe, the water nymph would occasionally scare a nearby fish with bubbles, and Will felt like an insensitive dumbass… which he kind of was. He didn’t know the backlash Mitchell got for being a child of Aphrodite. He had no idea that people thought that, just because he was a son of the love goddess, he wasn’t and messed around with other people.

He had no idea and he helped perpetuate a lie. 

A water nymph seemed to notice his distress, as she seemed to pick a flower of sorts from the bottom of the lake and let it float up to him. 

“Thanks…” Will said with a half hearted smile. “But I don’t really deserve it.”

Upon saying this, a few more hyphens appeared under the water and looked at him with putty in their eyes. Bubbles escaped one of their lips and he could only assume they were asking what was wrong.

With a sigh, Will leaned over the canoe and began to explain. 

“Well… long story short, I’m a coward. There’s this guy I like and he told me that he was taking to another guy and… I panicked and said that I liked Mitchell, thinking it would be nothing, but… yeah it wasn’t nothing. It really hurt Mitchell and I think that N— ...this guy I like… probably thinks I’m a liar. Well… I am a liar. I just don’t have the guts to tell him myself. I’m supposed to be so big and strong and helpful, but… he makes me feel like I can be weak. He makes me feel like I can let my guard down and just… be.” 

As Will finished that last sentence, there was a deep groan that finished with a snap followed a shift in weight on the canoe. The Nymphe scattered under the canoe and Will was left with an uneasy feeling and a new passenger on his canoe.

“Wow… you really screwed that one up, huh?”

Will sighed and turned around to face the new guest on the canoe and, of course, it was Nico. Of course it was Nico.

“Under normal circumstances,” Will started. “I’d scold you for shadow travel.”

Nico chuckled and leaned back on the canoe slightly looking out on the water.

“So you lied about Mitchell, huh?” He commented, but before Will could even attempt to defend himself, Nico raised a hand for him to stop. “Listen,” he said. “ I’m not completely innocent either. I might have… pretended… a little bit too. I asked Demetri if I could use him to… um… get somebody’s attention and I had to make sure that nobody was suspicious. You just happened to pick the wrong person to pretend to be talking to.”

Will was quiet for a moment, thinking about what Nico said to him. “Whose attention were you trying to get?” He finally said. “I mean… I haven’t heard anybody tell me about you and Demetri. I only heard it from you. I mean, I made a mistake and lied about Mitchell, but Demetri is definitely more believable for you.”

Nico raised an eyebrow and said, “For me?” 

The child of the sun god’s eyes widened and he instantly regretted his phrasing. “That-that’s not how I meant to say it!” He sputtered. He fumbled over his words, trying to explain how he felt, but That all stopped when Nico places a hand on his shoulder. 

“Will, I get it.” He said, a chuckle escaping his lips as he spoke. “You thought the moody and dark Dyonisus kid would get with the moody and dark Hades kid. But…” There was a pause just for a moment and then he spoke again.

“But my type is a little more… sunshine-y.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey so... uh... I know I haven’t updated in a while but I hope to update more now that the summer is here! Forgive me for the short chapter and I’ll make sure the next one is longer.  
> Thank you!  
> -Taljpg


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